Indian MPs' day out in Yale

Yale University Leadership Program Draws India's Parliamentarians. A group of 13 Indian Parliamentarians, both from the ruling coalition and opposition, visited Yale University, New Haven, CT early June to participate in "The 2008 India - Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program". They discussed pressing global issues, including climate change and sustainable development with the American leaders and experts in the four-day long leadership program.

The program has drawn to Yale University a distinguished and senior delegation from India's Parliament this year. Yale University, widely recognized for educating leaders in government, business, and civil society worldwide launched the India - Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program in 2007 in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the India - US Forum of Parliamentarians. The inaugural India - Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program was held in October 2007 with a different delegation of parliamentarians. The 2008 cohort of members of India's Parliament were at the Yale University campus to interact and learn from Yale faculty and later on to participate in two-day meetings, discussions and interactions with US politicians, policy analysts and senior US government officials in Washington, D.C. The 2008 participants included current and former cabinet ministers, party leaders and party spokespersons for the ruling and opposition coalitions in India.

Yale President Richard C Levin said, "The India Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program underscores Yale's longstanding commitment to educating our students for service and leadership. We have now gone a step further to include emerging and mid-career leaders. The program will provide the parliamentarians with opportunities to critically think about the challenges of leadership and to explore freely, away from the legislative arena, the issues facing India."

FICCI secretary general Dr Amit Mitra said that the program encouraged greater understanding of public leadership, accountability, transparency and parliamentary oversight. "It is designed to provide the parliamentarians capacity building and skill development and greater engagement in public policy discussions. The program is aimed at making an important contribution to their leadership capabilities to prevent and manage challenges through effective parliamentary governance," he added. The India Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program was developed in consultation with the parliamentarians and the India US Forum of Parliamentarians. The University says it reflects the belief that exposure to new fields and ideas can offer insight, perspective and new ways of thinking for one's own work.

Lectures, discussions and private meetings with renowned practitioners in their areas complemented the curricular activities. Faculties for the program are drawn from experts at Yale as well as research institutes, government offices and the private sector. The topics covered in the program include Climate Change and Sustainable Development; Economic Risks in the Global Economy; Rule of Law and Governance in China; Poverty and Economic Development; Religion and Politics; Reform of Higher Education in India; 2008 US Presidential Election Predictions and Realities; India and Globalization; Effective and Strategic Political Communications; Styles of Leadership; Innovation; and Leadership Challenges.

The India-US Forum of Parliamentarians is a body of leading Indian parliamentarians representing the broad political spectrum of India from both Houses of Parliament. The forum was formed five years ago with the support of FICCI.

The participating Parliamentarians were Shobhana Bhartia (Rajya Sabha; Nominated Member), Vijay Jawaharlal Darda (Rajya Sabha; Congress, Maharashtra), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Rajya Sabha; BJP, Uttar Pradesh), Jayanthi Natarajan (Rajya Sabha; Congress, Tamil Nadu), Baijant Panda (Rajya Sabha; Biju Janata Dal, Orissa), Sebastian Paul (Lok Sabha; Independent Member, Ernakulam, Kerala), Suresh Prabhu (Lok Sabha; Shiv Sena, Rajapur, Maharashtra), Kiren Rijiju (Lok Sabha; BJP, Arunachal Pradesh), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Lok Sabha; Congress, Guna, Madhya Pradesh), Yashodhara Raje Scindia (Lok Sabha; BJP, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh), Saleem Iqbal Shervani (Lok Sabha; Samajwadi Party, Budaun, Uttar Pradesh), Uday Singh (Lok Sabha; BJP, Purnea, Bihar) and Abhishek M Singhvi (Rajya Sabha; Congress, Rajasthan).

The Forum, constituted on the lines of ‘Senate Friends of India' group and the ‘India Caucus' in the United States Congress has more than 130 lawmakers cutting across party lines. Encompassing all aspects of Indo-US relations, the Forum makes an effort to facilitate wider exchange of dialogue on crucial issues of bilateral and global concerns between parliamentarians of India and their counterparts in the US.

BY MADHU PATEL